System of electrical distribution.



PATENTED OCT. 15, 1.907. B. WEINTRAUB.

SYSTEM OF ELEUTRIGAL DISTRIBUTION.

APPLIOATION rum) JULY 23. "was. RENEWED 00130,).906.

EZECHIEL'l/VEINTRAUB, F SCHENEGTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TQ'GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

SYSTEM OF ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 15, 1907.

. Application filed July 23, 1903, Serial No. 166,656- Rama October 30, 1905- Serial No. 285,005.

Toull whom it may concernf Be-it known that I, EZECHJEL WEINTRAUB, asubject ofithe Czar of Russia, residingat Schenectady, county 7 of Schenectady, State of New York, have invented cer- .5 .tain' new and useful Improvements in Systems of. Electrical Distribution, of which the following isa specification. I .M'ypresent invention relates to an organization embodying 'alternatin'g. current vapor conductors sucli as rectifiers,: lamps or the like. Certain forms of such rectifie'rs or lamps require for continuous operation tovhave maintained in the rcceptacleor envelop of therrespective rectifier or lainpa supplemental arc or, as I-mayterm .it, a side branch, fed with current from some suitable source. The amount of current used in suclirside branch may be verysmall so that I thereiore fiiidit' convenient in many instances to userectifiers orllamps-oLthis type, in which case the side branches or supplemental arcs of the vapor conductors are, in

accordance. with my invent-ion; all led from a single .-.source ,of current which as set forth in this, application may .he a rectifier, relatively small in size, supplied fromthe same source which feeds the main rectifiers or 1 invention embodies, various ieatures of novelty .'as; =-point,ed out withparticularity in 'the'appended afiw fl lpgap-urrent mains land 2 fed. from the secondary 3 sof atransformer, the primary 4 of which communicate witbthegenerating end of the system. A's illustrative oivu'po'tv conductors operated, in accordance with my invention Ilha'v'e represented a plurality of vapor recti .dm'fiersmt .5, 6, and 7. Each rectifier consists of'av highly 1 exhausted envelop or receptacle such as at 8, provided brat its bottoni portion with pockets containing bodies voi-mercury 9 and'10. The body of mercury 10 constitutes one of the main electrodes oi the rectifier while the of me'rcury'9 is a supplemental electrode betweeg which-and the electrode or cathode 10 a sustaining arc "for a purpose to be described. Within .tha enlargedportionof the envelop 8, two other elecand 12 are located and are held in position by a so fglass-incased depending iron wires or rods 13 leading-in conductors .15 and 16 extending .thmugh t1 i e walls.oi the envelop. These leading-in "Goonducto connected'across the mains 1 and 2.

.The cathod 10 is connected through a corresponding leading-in conductor 1'1 to one main 18 of a consumption circuit the other main 19 of which is connected to a neittral conductor 20 extendingirom the central-or similar intermediate point of the secondary 3. The other rectie 5 egrcept, how'everg that it is' provided with two suppl emental-electrodes 22 and 23 instead 0f one as iu the case brass-rectifier 5. The rectifier '21 has is upper err-solid electrodes 24 and 25 connected to the secsdsrygzopi a transformer, the primary 27 of which '19 may'b i'ed'from any source of alternating current, in

' this instance from themains 1', '2."Two inductance coils ZSand 29 are connected in series across the leads of the secondary 26 and a conductor 30 extends from the junction between these inductance coils} This. con

ductor 30, together with the conductor 31 extending -from-the main electrode or cathode 32'of the rectifier constitute the two leads'oi the direct current circuit of y the rectifier.

This circuit is used to supply current for main ini g 30 in each or any of the rectifier-s 5, 6 and"? a supplern'ntal are between the additional electrode and the main cathode. To this end a variety of connections may be! made so as to supply the supplemental arcs of the rectifiers either in multiple, as shown in the drawings; or ii desired the connections may he modified so as tosupply the arcs in series. As shown'in the drawings however, the conductors 30 and 31 are represented as connected to the loads 18 and 33 of, which the lead or main 1 8 is connected to the respective cathodes oi the rectifiers 5, o and 7 andthe lead 33, tlirq'ugh switches 34, .35-a nd' 36 with the respective supplemental electrodes 37 and. 38.

' In order to start upthe system the rectifiiu' 21 is first :startcd and for convenience bestarted with its 96 direct current circuit ieeding a resistance 39. The starting of the rectifier is efiectedby shaking: the receptacle or otherwise causing the mercury in one or the other of the starting electrodes 22 and 23 to flow over into contact with the'cathode 32 and then separate. 100 When the direction of flow of current in the starting arc is such that" the elect iadc 32 is negative or-in other words acathode, the'excitation thus produced on the cathode sets free ionizedlvapor and causes thereby an arc to start between the cathode and the other starting electrode. These arcs occur so as mutually to sustain each other and so keep up a continuous current discharge in the envelop. By opening the switches 40 V as long as the supplemt ntal arc exists and 4.1,the arcs desert the starting electrodes 22 and 23 and pass to the main electrodes or anodes24 and 25,

maintaining, however, their connection with the maid cathode 32.

In the operation of these arcs the inductance coils 28 and 29 play the important part of storing energy during a current wave therethrough of one polarity and then rcstoF-in g the energy' so as to maintain the arc in the en volop when current normally would cease to flow from 1. smirco.

L t it be assumed that the rectifier 21 has been any one of the rectifiers 5, 6 and 7, it is only necessary to close the corresponding switch, as for example in the" case of the rectifier 5 the switch 34, and then shake the rectifier 5 so as to cause a momentary overflow of mercury between the two electrodes 9 and 10. As the mercury separates, the current flow produced by the engagement of the two bodies of mercury springs an are which is of such direction, as to its current flow, that the electrode 10 is inunediutely excited as a cathode. The ionized vapor given'ofi by the cathode thenrenders the interior of the envelop 5 conducting for waves of a given polarity, whereupon waves of current flow through arcsforined alternately from the anodes 11 and 12 to the cathode 10. jiny one or all of the rectifiers may thus be started up and will continu'eiu operation when it is desired to discontinue the operation of a rectifier all that is necessary is to interrupt the circuit-oi the supplemental are. Resistance? 42, 43 and 44, either inductive or non-inductive. may be placed respectively in series with the supplements] or auxiliary arcs forthe purpose of stcadying thdul.

In drawings 1 have represented the rectifiers 5, 6 and 7ias supplying a commonload consisting of translating devices connected between the loads or mains 18 and 19, but it will be evident that. each oi the rectifiers, instead of supplying a common load may, of courscfil', desired, each supply its own load. Also it should he mentioned that, after the supplemental arcs in one or rnoreloi the rectifiers 5,-6 and 7 have been started, thus completing the direct current circuit of the rectifier 21., the resistance 39,- being no longer required, may be dxnitted, If desired, however, theresistance nizty be liept pjermanently in circuit so that in the event of the various modifications mey'be made in the upplicatiol'i of my invention without departing from the spirit thereof. for which reason I do not wish to be limited to the exact details shown and described.

I do not herein lay claim to the rectifier herein shown, nor to the broad idea of exciting a rectifier by direct current, nor to any other feature not specifically claimed herein.

What I do claim herein as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is,

1. The combination of one or more vapor electric do vices of that type requlrlng'a supply of current from a separate source to keep it or them in operation, and n rectlllcrlor sppplylng the sold current.

2. The combination of a single-phase alternating current system provided with a-neutral conductor. a rectifier huvln and a third electrode'conuected to said neutral conductor, and an auxlllary' rectifier supplied from sald'aystem and arranged tolurnlsh current tor maintaining an are or discharge In the main rectifier.

3. The combination ot a slngle phase vapor rectifier provided with main electrodes and an additional electrode, and sn'auxlllary rectifier for maintaining an are or discharge between sald'sddltional, electrode and one sa d mold electrodes.

4. The combination of an alternating current supplysystem provided with a neutral conductor; one or more vapor rectlflers each having electrodes connector] to he mains of said system and to said neutral-condu tor. and an auxiliary vapor rectifier tor constantly excltlng the first mentioned r'ectllleimrectlflers.

5. The combination of d vapor electric apparatus for utilizing alternating current. whlch apparatus is provided with main electrodes and an addltlnnal electrode, and sell' operating vapor rectlfier for maintaini an arc current flow between said additional electi-o leand one of said main electrodes. I

(l. The combination of an alternating current system, a vapor electric device connected thereto. and means for producing a. continuous au'xlllary or supplements] are In said device consisting of an auxiliary rectifier supplied with current inductively from -sulrl alternating current system.

.7. The combination or? asou rcc of nltermltlng current. a. vapor electric apparatus comprlslng an 'vxlialistefl'en- \elop provided with electrodes, and it rectifying device conneclcd'to sald'smll'cc um] arranged to produce is supplemental .oi-"a'iuxlllary are in said apparatus.

In witness whereof. I

18th. (luv of July, 1905}.

have hereunto set my hand this EZECIIIWL WElN'lItAleYlt.

Witnesses: Y J

BnxJAuiN B. IIULL,

two electrodes connected to mains of said system, 

